And those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways; and Allah is most surely with the doers of good. 29:69 The Quran

Jinnah's Ideology of Pakistan

Syed Javed Hussain

Intelligent people foresee a change and adjust to it constructively; average people experience it when it has happened and then try to adjust themselves to it to make the best of the situation; below average people first bear with the consequences of the change, weather it through and when there is time for yet another adjustment they begin to accommodate the earlier one; whereas the dumb and fools weather through all the changes without adjusting themselves to anyone, the change withers itself out and passes on in History leaving behind a few unshapely traces, like the remnants of a strong storm; such people have no mark on history.

Where do we fit ourselves into the slot as a nation? We have just celebrated yet another anniversary of the father of the Nation and paid tributes to his leadership and thanked him for his untiring hard work to create this country for us and our generations employing matchless perseverance of his character, acumen and wisdom, sincerity of purpose and deep commitment to integrity, solidarity, sovereignty, independence and deliverance from all kinds of shackles: rational or irrational.

He created the country for free flow of human faculties; for an advancement and improvement in the lives of millions of people in this part of the world. We may have moved ahead a little in certain areas, however, our overall performance as a nation, at best, is dismal. More than half a century after the departure of the Quaid, we have very less to boast about and much more to feel ashamed of.

We have unscrupulous politicians who can go to any length to serve themselves; we have the most corrupt and undisciplined police force that cannot maintain law and order in the country; we have rudderless crumbling educational system that has in the last fifty years failed to create a nation; we even have problem with a religion that claims to have brought peace to the world and preaches equality and egalitarianism by ridding the society of tribalism, ethnicity and sectarianism, and brings about tolerance in humankind.

Instead, we have created a battalion of firebrand mullahs who have no regard to human life; we have a military whose generals have become politicians; we have rising inflation, unemployment, corruption, immorality, disregard to family life and social and political discontent; we have shabby economy, whereas, politicians will not tire themselves claiming windfalls as millions of people are living below poverty line.

The most pathetic segment of our national life is that we have made the very ideology of Pakistan acutely controversial. Islamists and secularists have remained at loggerheads with each other right from the beginning regarding Jinnah’s objectives for creating Pakistan. Off and on a new concept of Pakistan on behalf of the Quaid is brought forward to compound the situation.

Speeches of the Quaid are quoted out of context and sometimes unscrupulous zealots would even audaciously appropriate Quaid’s hitherto unknown intentions to substantiate their point of view. In the name of Pakistan Ideology we have wrecked Pakistan. We simply forgot that whatever source the ideology of Pakistan may have sprung from (secular or Islamic), it meant peace, prosperity, security, stability and dignity for its people. Every national Ideology must contribute to these ends: we need to be more perceptive.

We have ignored what the Quaid said at Lahore on October 24, 1947: ‘I would like to impress upon every Mussalman who has at heart the welfare and the prosperity of Pakistan, to avoid retaliation and to exercise restraint,because retaliation and violation of law and order will ultimately result in weakening the very foundations of the edifice you have cherished all these years to erect. Do your duty and have faith in God. There is no power on earth that can undo Pakistan.’

Even six years before this while addressing Punjab Muslim Students Federation in 1941 the Quaid highlighted the nation’s future course of action in crystal clear terms. He said, ‘There are at least three main pillars which go to make a nation worthy of possessing a territory and running a government. One is education. Next, no nation and no people can ever do anything very much without making themselves economically powerful in commerce, trade and industry. And lastly, you must prepare yourselves for your defence, defence against external aggression and to maintain internal security.’ If it were not our nuclear baggage we have faltered on all counts.

Our Islamists claim that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam so that Muslims should live according to the precepts of Islam; therefore, there should be ‘Nizam-e-Mustafa’ in the lands of the pure, thereby according to their own perception according lesser status to non Muslim segments of society.

On the other hand our secularists, fear tyranny of Mullah. Both do a great disservice to Islam by not recognizing Islam’s absolute regard for an individual’s right to personal freedom and his choice of religion. We simply tend to forget that the Holly Prophet (pbuh) has said, ‘All men are equal in the eyes of God. And your lives and your properties are all sacred; in no case should you attack each other’s life and property.

Today I trample under my feet all distinctions of caste, colour and nationality.’ The Holy Qur’an says, ‘There is no compulsion in religion.’ However, the fanatic Mullah of Islam, constructing meanings on the Holy Quran’ has flourished despotism, bigotry, fanaticism and intolerance for fellow human beings so much so that the West as well as fellow citizens have begun to fear Islam.

One wonders why we have just enough Islam to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another: if we can live peacefully we would rather be accomplishing the very purpose of Islam.

Rising above the politics of secularists, nationalists and Islamists, as it was the most crucial period of Pakistan life, the Quaid made the most important speech of his life. While addressing the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947, in a true spirit of Islam, the Quaid said, ‘You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State ......We are starting with the fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State... .’There is nothing in Islam that is incompatible with human dignity, individual freedom, liberty of choice in religion, absence of coercion regarding ethnic, social, cultural and political preferences within the bonds of decency: only we need to maintain a distinction between Islamic democracy and plain stupid theocracy.

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He created the country for free flow of human faculties;for an advance-ment and improvement in the lives of millions of people in this part of the world. We may have moved ahead a little in certain areas, however, our overall performance as a nation, at best, is dismal. ﻿